EMUNI summer school on fisheries and aquaculture in the sustainable blue economy came to a close on Friday, 13 May 2022. The summer school spanned over three weeks, divided between a remote period and a face-to-face period taking place in Piran between 9 and 13 May 2022. In the remote period, the students were introduced to the framework of the blue economy and dedicated their time to participate in a web-based simulation on managing fisheries as a natural resource in a dynamic world. During the face-to-face period, the students attended tailored field trips, alongside lectures, workshops and teamwork. They were exposed to contributions by over 20 lecturers and trainers coming from various parts of the Mediterranean region, presenting various scientific and stakeholder perspectives on the domain of fisheries and aquaculture – from their ecological dynamics to their value chains, human and cultural aspects to the major disruption in form of climate change. The theme of fisheries-related of one of the central sectors of the blue economy, and in addition, offers a lens to view multiple challenges, opportunities and conflicts related to other sectors of the blue economy.
The training hosted 10 participants onsite and 15 of them remotely. The participants came from 10 different countries in the Mediterranean and beyond and ranged from master’s student level to PhD researchers. As a result of covid-19-related travel rules and visa procedures preventing these latter participants to contribute to the full programme, EMUNI University made a provision for their participation in the lectures. The training was initially designed as a face to face training only, in the desire to return to the pre-pandemic mode of delivery that is highly effective not only in acquiring new knowledge but also in forging new relations and attitudes in the domain of sustainability.
The training is offered by the EMUNI University as part of the Jean Monnet Module BLUES titled Blue Economy and Sustainability, which is co-financed by the European Commission for the period 2021-23. The next edition of the summer school on the sustainable blue economy will be offered in the early summer of 2023.